Showing posts for "Homeland Security"
Picking up where it left off last week in Denver, CFR today convened a panel on foreign policy on the sidelines of the GOP convention in Minneapolis that reinforced the difficulties facing a new administration. Here’s a brief look at the discussion on some of the vexing issues:
The Republican Party kicked off a pared-down version (AP) of its national convention on Monday in Minnesota. President Bush, who had been scheduled to speak to the convention, instead traveled to Texas to be briefed on Hurricane Gustav’s management.
In Ohio, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) packed supplies for hurricane victims (NYT). Both the Obama and McCain campaigns urged supporters to donate to relief efforts.
DENVER–There’s no question that speeches by Democratic dignitaries, especially Barack Obama’s address Thursday night, constitute the main event here at the DNC. Yet security has become a formidable side show. The federal government devoted $50 million to bolster the security effort here and will match that in Minnesota next week. So what does $50 million buy? The AP has an itemized list, but as far as those attending the nightly proceedings are concerned, it still adds up to long lines; the queue for the security checkpoint stretched the length of two or three city blocks each of the first two evenings. Considering the airport-style security being imposed, the line moves with surprising efficiency. Police, Secret Service, and TSA officials operate metal detectors, x-rays, and conduct manual bag searches, though no one is asked to remove their shoes.
Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) released his plan to “confront 21st-century threats” on Wednesday. The plan includes measures to reduce the threat of nuclear terrorism and strengthen U.S. bio-security and cyber security.
“I’ll make cyber security the top priority that it should be in the 21st century. I’ll
declare our cyber-infrastructure a strategic asset, and appoint a National Cyber Advisor who will report directly to me. We’ll coordinate efforts across the federal government, implement a truly national cyber-security policy, and tighten standards to secure information – from the networks that power the federal government, to the networks that you use in your personal lives.”
Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) on Wednesday voted in favor of a new FISA bill (WashPost) which lifted restrictions on domestic spying and granted legal immunity to telecommunications companies that cooperated in the Bush administration’s warrantless wiretapping program. Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) missed the vote, but has expressed support for the bill.
Ahead of an expected vote this week in the Senate on expanding the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) defended his decision to support recent compromise legislation. He wrote in a blog post on his campaign website that the bill “does not resolve all of the concerns that we have about President Bush’s abuse of executive power” but that a new provision in the bill “makes it clear to any president or telecommunications company that no law supersedes the authority of the FISA court.” A Senate vote on the measure is expected this week.
Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) laid out his energy policy plans in a speech in Houston, Texas. McCain called for offshore drilling and attacked proposals for a windfall profits tax on oil companies.
“These are not American citizens. They are enemy combatants. I think this is one of th
e biggest mistakes that’s been made in terms of our ability to defend our nation in a long, long time.”
Sens. Barack Obama (D-IL) and John McCain (R-AZ) took starkly different positions (NYT) on the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to allow detainees at Guantanamo challenge their detention in court. Obama praised the court’s decision, calling the ruling “an important step toward re-establishing our credibility as a nation committed to the rule of law, and rejecting a false choice between fighting terrorism and respecting habeas corpus.” McCain, meanwhile, said the ruling concerned him. “These are unlawful combatants; they’re not American citizens,” he said.
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